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With nearly 100% of precincts counted, the Russian President got 87% of the vote, says CEC; Putin says the results are an indication of the people’s ‘trust’ and ‘hope’ in him; Germany slams the election process; China’s Xi congratulates Putin…
President Vladimir Putin sealed his control over Russia for six more years on Mon- day with a landslide in an election that followed the harshest crackdown on the Opposition and free speech since Soviet times.
With nearly all the precincts counted on Monday, election officials said Mr. Putin had secured a record number of votes.
Mr. Putin has led Russia as President
Solid win: Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks on a visit to his campaign headquarters after a presidential election in Moscow. AP
ryone: when we were consolidated, no one has ever managed to frighten us, to suppress our will and our self-conscience.
They failed in the past and they will fail in the future,” he said at a meeting with his campaign staff after polls closed.
Russia’s Central Election Commission said on Mon- day that with nearly 100% of precincts counted, Mr. Putin got 87% of the vote. Central Election Commission chief Ella Pamfilova said nearly 76 million particularly criticised voting in Ukrainian areas that Russia has illegally annexed, saying “everything Russia does on the occupied territory of Ukraine is a crime”. Germany sharply criti- cised the vote with Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s spokes- woman, Christina Hoffmann, saying that “in our opinion, it was not a democratic election.” Meanwhile, Chinese
President Xi Jinping and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un quickly congratulation
air strikes by Pakistan’s military in the border re- gions of Afghanistan, prompting Afghan forces to retaliate against Pakista- ni military outposts, Tali- ban officials said.
Border tensions bet- ween the two countries have risen since the Tali- ban seized power in 2021, with Islamabad claiming militant groups are carry- ing out regular attacks from Afghanistan.
Taliban spokesman Za- bihullah Mujahid said Pa- kistani aircraft “bombed
seized power in 2021
men and children.
Afghanistan’s Defence Ministry said its border forces retaliated in response to the airstrikes, targeting Pakistan’s military points along the disputed border with “heavy weapons”.
“The country’s defense and security forces are rea- dy to respond to any ag- gressive actions and will defend their territorial in- tegrity at all cost,” spokes- man Enayatullah Khwariz-
“Such incidents can have very bad consequences which will be out (of ) Pa- kistan’s control.”
Malak Noor Khan, a tribal elder in the Sperah district of Khost, said he saw at least four explosives dropped from drones and jets. “All those targeted are refugees from Waziristan, they are not militants, they are not terrorists,” he said. The Afghan Foreign Ministry said on X, it had summoned the head of the Pakistani embassy in Kabul to protest Monday’s Minister since December 1999, a tenure marked by international military aggression and an increasing intolerance for dissent. At the end of his fifth term,
Mr. Putin would be the longest-serving Russian leader since Catherine the Great, who ruled during the 18th century.
As early results came in,
Mr. Putin hailed them as an indication of “trust” and “hope” in him.
“Of course, we have lots of tasks ahead. But I want to make it clear for eve-ryone: when we were con- solidated, no one has ever managed to frighten us, to suppress our will and our self-conscience. They failed in the past and they will fail in the future,” he said at a meeting with his campaign staff after polls closed.
Germany sharply criticised the vote with Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s spokes- woman, Christina Hoffmann, saying that “in our opinion, it was not a democratic election.” Meanwhile, Chinese President Xi Jinping and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un quickly congratulated Mr. Putin, along with some Central and South American leaders and presidents of nations that have historic and close current ties to Russia.